1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus that includes an optical detector.
2. Related Art
In general, recording apparatuses that are liquid ejecting apparatuses and that perform recording processes such as printing on a recording medium such as a sheet that is transported are known. An example of recording apparatuses is an ink jet printer, and this type of printer usually performs printing using ink supplied from an ink cartridge that is removably mounted thereon, and thus, the printer includes means for checking whether the ink cartridge is appropriately mounted or not in order to avoid performing printing without the ink cartridge mounted thereon.
For example, JP-A-11-138854 describes a printer that includes an optical sensor that has a light emitting section and a light receiving section and is provided at a predetermined position on a movement path of a carriage that reciprocates in a main scanning direction with ink cartridges mounted on the carriage. This printer is configured so that, only when the ink cartridges are appropriately mounted on the carriage, does the light emitting section emit light toward the carriage that passes above a location where the optical sensor is provided, and after that, the light receiving section detects reflected light that is light that has been reflected by an outer wall of one of the ink cartridges. In other words, the optical sensor determines whether the ink cartridges are appropriately mounted or not by the presence of reflected light detected by the light receiving section.
In the case where a printer including an optical sensor is disposed near a window or a light source, there has been a problem in that when the printer is used, ambient light such as sunlight or illumination light enters a light receiving section of the optical sensor from a space between a main body cover and a frame, causing detection failure. A main cause of this is that a space is formed between a carriage that reciprocates in a main scanning direction and an optical sensor that is arranged and fixed below the carriage in order to prevent a contact between the carriage and the optical sensor, and strong ambient light enters the optical sensor from the space.
In the printer described in JP-A-11-138854, projecting sections are provided at the periphery of the optical sensor as light blocking walls so as not to allow ambient light to enter the optical sensor. With this configuration, the ambient light can be prevented from directly entering the optical sensor, but cannot be prevented from entering the periphery of the optical sensor. Therefore, with the above-described configuration, there is a possibility that the ambient light reflected at the periphery of the optical sensor enters the optical sensor resulting in detection failure of the optical sensor. Thus, the configuration is not sufficient as a measure for preventing incidence of ambient light.